Coventry City 1 Cardiff City 1. Match Report

Two goals in three first half minutes - Lee Bullock's excellent 19th minute glancing header cancelling out a scrappy Stern John effort - provided all the excitement of a low quality, dull affair. It was tense though, nerves jangle as the season closes with these relegation-style encounters by the 2,000 City fans who gave magnificent vocal backing throughout enjoyed it all.

It was the day after Red Nose Day. For City, it's been Red Face Fortnight. With debts believed to be fast approaching £40M, it's pout into context that Red Nose's superbly raised £36 would still leave us in debt if they handed every penny to us.

Thankfully, the few days preceding the game weren't as bad as the week before, or as bad as feared. It ended with a morale boost but there's no point pretending that we aren't in massive trouble as Sam Hammam and Cardiff City's financial mismanagement, mistruths and missed promises are hitting home.

Sam's future, and possibly the club's too, seems to depend solely on the ability of property developers to sell retail units to enable a confirmed stadium start date and release either funding or goodwill to attract some. There is no Plan B as Michael Isaac's offer of cash injections for more personal control have been declined and investors are hardly queuing up.

Sam has been noticeably quiet and out of sight in these troubled times. His only p.r. of the week was to meet the council leader for some predictable moral support, nothing else, and then issue a public warcry to Capital and Regional to "put up or shut up". The property developers who will not release funds to City until they have sold 60% of the stadium's retail units wouldn't play ball haven't yet done that so it's impasse.

Whilst it continues to drag on, Kav The Captain was sold, his transfer fee wiped out in paying outstanding club wages. The first batch of Ninian Park job losses have taken place, mostly in support areas and Matthew Crocker, Head of the Bluebirds Academy, our future, has gone too. The timing of his departure for a similar role was believed to be confidential (and there is also no truth in the rumours that it's a job swap with Michael Jackson looking to come here from America to look after the kids!).

Rumours abounded that upto 9 players could have gone before the Coventry game but they're all still here ... for now. Only fourth choice keeper Arran Lee Barrett disappeared, on trial at Torquay although West Ham were declined with two cheeky low bids for James Collins (their cheek partly caused by City defaulting and still owing for Jobi McAnuff's transfer) and Rotherham denied trying similar for Alan Lee whom we also allegedly still owe £200k for.

Beating Sheffield last weekend was the solitary positive point of a wretched two weeks, until 24 hours before Coventry, up stepped director Michael Isaac with £1M interest free. No players will leave yet but when they do, Isaac will be repaid. It was a cause for celebration but the reality is that it's little more than a limited painkiller, the pain is set to return and won't go away.

Looking on the bright side, it may help City stay up and give us breathing space to sort things out. Let's hope so. Absolute realism is that any good player and/or big earner will have to go this summer and we'll be raiding the bargain bins and cast offs. It is vital we stay in the Championship and it has to help. Thank you Michael Isaac, your gestures and efforts are appreciated.

None of this has much to do with the match itself but you have to put Cardiff's performances, morale and spirit into context at present by recalling what went on before the game as much as the match itself. Anyway, football time, hallejuah, and didn't we need it? Just watching Cardiff right now is a relief from the day to day gloom and reality around the club.

Club and fans were sufficiently buoyed by Isaac's donation to head for Coventry in good spirits. A chilly day but mostly sunny, an easy drive with no problems (although a RAMS coach seemed to have broken down on the M42) and Coventry city centre could be reached by car in around two hours. Well done also to the coachloads of fans who left early to cheer on our academy sides playing at Aston Villa in the morning, that's quality support.

Over 2,000 City fans went to Coventry and most seemed to be enjoying themselves in and around city centre bars. Locals told a familiar tale of "never having seen so many police around" and we had some scary looking boys but there were no problems and everyone was well behaved from all I saw.

Highfield Road is about a mile from the centre, land-locked in the middle of the less than attractive looking Hillfield district. Coventry leave it at the end of the season to head for the state of the art Jaguar Stadium and have only 4 more games there after this match. Most Cardiff fans looking around would gladly have swapped Ninian Park to have Highfield Road! It was still good, all seated, all covered, excellent views without pillars, good atmosphere.

They had a bookmaker, large toilets, excellent catering (but no beer, sob) and a very good programme with the cover, and a major feature inside, dedicated to their new star signing - Robert Page. The programme seller told me how every Cardiff fan had laughed at seeing it and had thanked Coventry for taking him off us!

The away section was excellent on the side of the pitch (instead of behind a goal) and perched above pitch level and I found myself sat nearby Jobi McAnuff's dad, in front of Richard Langley's dad and behind Junichi Inamoto's agent with quite a few more Japanese in the City end to see the gloved one. Why is he still wearing them when it's not quite as cold?

The atmosphere built up nicely before kick-off with City, Welsh flags (and the German one) hung everywhere, Chris Kamara got natured stick as he walked the tv gantry over our heads for Sky reporting and ayatollahing to us. The players warming up had a wonderful reception and so did the lycra clad, tiny costumed dancing girls. It's noticeable how the crisis has completely altered our perceptions and expectations. No player gets criticised anymore, they're all supported 100% because, in fairness, that's what they're giving to the cause at present in difficult circumstances.

Last week, Sam Hammam hid in the dugout and went home early. Was he at Highfield Road. The Directors Box was too far away to see but the Coventry Mascot, a large costumed elephant doing handstands all over the pitch was called Sam. Come to think of it, did you notice its bushy eyebrows? If he was there, I wonder how he felt here the fans chanting There's Only One Michael Isaac and, for the first time ever, Lennie Lawrence's Barmy Army instead of Sam's name. Lennie loved the deserved recognition and laughed away as chants went up of "Lennie, Do the Ayatollah" as he obliged.

Both sides come out to a noisy reception from the excellent 17,059 crowd, Coventry attendances rising as fans get their last opportunity to be in their spiritual home. Cardiff's players came straight over to our sections and applauded us, the bond between player and fans at matches rarely greater than it is right now. They went into an extended huddle too.

With Peter Thorne injured, Alan Lee still suspended and Lennie having to juggle his wafer thin resources, it was squad midfielder Lee Bullock asked to play as an emergency striker alongside Cameron Jerome. Otherwise, it was the same as last week as City started with Alexander, Weston-Collins-Gabbidon-Barker, McAnuff-Ledley-Inamoto-Langley, Bullock-Jerome.

Coventry, having spent something like 50 to 60 years in the top/Premier Division are in danger of their second relegation in three seasons. One place below City, one point behind, one game more played and two points above the trapdoor, they must have looked on this clash as a "must win". They were in freefall having lost 6 out of 7 games from Boxing Day until mid-February but confidence has risen since Peter Reid was sacked. He may be a nice man on telly but he's a disaster as manager.

According to home fans, professionalism, attitude, performances and results have all increased significantly since Mickey Adams took over. Consecutive away wins at Reading and Watford have been a fantastic boost but the side can't buy a win at home. This draw meant Coventry hadn't won any of their last 6 home games, 4 were lost.

Adams' line up was Bennett, Duffy-Williams-Staunton-Hall, Jorgensen-Doyle-Hughes-McSheffery, Benjamin-John. Iain Bennett was on loan from Birmingham and returning after red card suspension, Steve Staunton, in his 37th year, played emergency centre-half as a clause in Robert Page's transfer said he couldn't play in this game. The strike force of Trevor Benjamin and Stern John may not be the greatest scoring but needed close attention.

The game started off brilliantly for Cardiff who were straight into their stride and taking it to Coventry. Lee Bullock and Cameron Jerome working and linking up well, Jerome's pace, strength and awkwardness visibly troubling the home defence every time he was on the ball. He seems to improve every week.

There were major chances in the first quarter of an hour. Jobi McAnuff almost burst through but was brought down outside the area, Captain Gabbidon's free-kick floated straight to Bennett. Richard Duffy brought down Jerome just outside the area, centre of goal. You could call it Kavanagh territory although programme stats show City haven't scored with a shot from a free-kick all season. Gabbidon showed why as his disappointing effort went low into the wall.

Cameron Jerome looked set to open the scoring as he brilliantly burst through Coventry's central defenders and stormed into the penalty area, albeit at an angle. He chose to play the ball across the face of goal from close range, rather than shoot, but nobody had kept up with him. The agony increased as Coventry took the ball, went straight upfield for the first time in the game and won a corner that put them ahead totally against the run of play.

City's defending has been magnificent recently and was for the entire game apart from the corner itself. How they, and we, were sickened by the manner in which we went behind. It was a nothing ball into the middle, it dropped dangerously and there were ricochets galore as we had three chances to clear and fail before the ball fell at the feet of STERN JOHN who simply toe-poked it home from 5 yards.

Coventry's fans celebrated by goading us with a chant of "going down, going down, going down". Cardiff's responded with "so are you, so are you, so are you".

Cardiff responded brilliantly. Inamoto, playing a midfield holding role allowing Ledley to get forward, got a shot in but put wide. Within three minutes, we had equalised and could goad the Sky Blues with chants of "going down, going down, going down" instead. This time, it was Cov's turn to be embarrassed by defending as Cardiff won a corner, Langley and Weston took it short, Langers clipped it in and LEE BULLOCK lost his marker and glanced a brilliant header across Bennett and inside his far post from close range.

That was about it as far as the rest of the half, and the entire match went. Cardiff easily won the first half on points as they caused problems every time they advanced. Inamoto was biting into tackles in midfield whilst Bullock and Jerome caused so much more mischief than Benjamin and John as Ginge and Gabbs had them in their pockets. Inamoto made Bennett save, McAnuff was blocked, Jerome put wide, can't think of anything Coventry did going forward other than Benjamin put a header wide. It looked good for us.

Half-time: Coventry 1 City 1

The half-time entertainment was certainly different. I'm not talking about kids taking penalties at Sam The Elephant but the Coventry female steward who looked up at us and went spark out in a feint, collapsing as though she had been shot and knocking herself out. Shouts went up saying that she hadn't been touched and it was a dive and it seemed that a hoarde of stewards and St John's Ambulance had no idea what to do before she was stretchered away talking and conscious again. Hope she's ok anyway.

The second half was a contrast to the opening period but quite painful to watch for football purists and very uneventful. The highlight was probably ex-Jack Richard Duffy, on loan from Pompey, and now forced to play in front of us getting tremendous stick and wilting from it. One ball played to him was totally missed, he looked up at us nervously before every throw and when he had a shooting opportunity, he blazed it horribly wide. With him so clearly being pout off, the chants of "you Jack b*****d" and "Gypo" just got louder and louder every time he had the ball.

Coventry had a lot of possession and a lot of territory as City fell back and played deep, too defensive at times. They struggled to get out as midfield dropped back whilst Bullock was fading and Jerome looked less effective too. However, it's very fair to say that, for all their pressure, Coventry just never bothered Neil Alexander.

As long as we can keep the side together and snatch a goal or tow from somewhere, that defence will keep us up surely. Rhys Weston, perhaps the weak link of the bunch, played very well again. James Collins and Danny Gabbidon have the talent but Chris Barker has been outstanding. Amongst all the turmoil, it's worth noting that Cardiff have conceded just 4 goals, and kept 7 clean sheets, in their last 11 Championship fixtures. It must be the best current record in the division? Only Stern John worried them, a cracking drive outside the area that he caught far too well as it cleared Alexander's bar, anything less and he may have burst the net.

It was ugly football to watch, worrying at times, as the game was camped in City's half but we got through fine and unscathed. We had chances too, Inamoto put wide, McAnuff was blocked, Langley wasted another good free-kick opportunity by firing well over the bar, and, right at the death, we so nearly pinched it as Langley and Darren Williams (a sub for Weston) played a short corner, Langers fired across goal missing Lee Buillock's out stretched boot and the far post by fractions. It was agonisingly close to all three points but I can't even remember the last time we hit a late winner.

The support remained excellent throughout. All kinds of chants, it was CCFC Classic Gold on the terraces. You name it, it was sung. Coventry declined to take part in a singing compo, their only offering were sporadic but loud bursts of the Jimmy Hill's Sky Blue Boating Song but that was usually drowned by our retorts of "one song, you only know song". Both sides are CCFC but as we sang, "there's were only City".

Final whistle brought a huge ovation from City's following appreciating the efforts of our players who, likewise, appreciate the support they are getting. If we don't have to sell anyone, you have to fancy Cardiff's chances of survival more than Coventry's on this showing but maybe both will be fine.

Table-wise, it's as you were. Gillingham, Cardiff and Cov all drew whilst Forest took a 6-0 thumping at Ipswich, our next opponents in midweek. Plymouth won handsomely above us but most others lost. City therefore remained 20th, three points and a vastly better goal difference over Gillingham in the final relegation berth. They are also within three points, with a vastly better goal difference, Leicester, Crewe, Brighton and Watford, and with a game in hand over most. However with Kav gone, Inamoto likely to go when his latest loan spell expires after next weekend, it remains a right battle and won't be easy.

One final tip - if you ever fancy a weekend break, don't choose Coventry. Whilst 2,000 City fans went home, I stayed behind. Those there by day will vouch it's an ugly place but I will say that the people are very nice. Bombed by the Germans in the war, it could still do with a re-build. Its main feature other than the cathedral was a laser-lit transport museum.

The nightlife is very poor. I was unfortunate enough to be in one pub with the Coventry rugby team, the biggest bunch of a*seholes I've seen away from sumo wrestling, and all the entertainment, main bars etc is crammed into a Skydome lesiure complex. The pubs all so average, the Indian was good though. That completes your tour guide to Ugly Coventry - don't go!